Railway-torpedo.



No. 888,548. PATENTED DEC. 18, 1906.

A. H. KNAPP.

RAILWAY TORPEDO.v APPLIUATION FILED MAY3,1906.

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ALFRED H. KNAPP, OF EAST PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

RAlLWAY-TORPEDO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 18, 1906.

Application filed May 3.1906. Serial No. 314.951.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED H. KNAPP, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Peoria, in the county of Tazewell and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Railway-Torpedoes and I do ereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in that class of devices known as railway-torpedoes, and has for its object to rovide a torpedo of paper, felt, cloth, or ot er material which will furnish no solid parts that might be hurled or thrown by the explosion of the torpedo.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a top view of a railway-torpedo constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, a sectional view on the line a a of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a sectional view on the line b b of Fig. 1 Fig. 4, an outline of a wrapper which I use for covering the edges of the torpedo; and Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view of a torpedo, illustrating a modification of the torpedo shown in the preceding figures.

The explosive container orenvelop of the torpedo consists of a waterproof cap 1, which is dome-shaped or otheriwse constructed to form a receptacle for a quantity of explosive 2 and has the edge thereof fiattened or flanged, as at 3, to rovide a flat edge, to which the bottom 4 o the container is secured by means of a waterproof adhesive cement. The cap 1 and bottom 4 are preferably of waterproof felt, although waterproof paper, cloth, or any other material which will furnish no solid fragments that might be thrown by the ex losion of the explosive 2 therein may be use and there is provided a wrapper 5, of thin waterproof material, which is cemented to the under surface of the bottom 4 and has the edges turned u over and cemented to the top of the flange edges 3 of the cap 1, so as to cover the rough edges of the said cap and the bottom 4 and insure an absolutely water roof joint.

The strap or c ip for fastening the torpedo to the rail may be of lead, steel, or any suitable material that will serve the purpose and may be secured to the explosive container or V envelo in any manner without departing from tffe spirit of my invention. It is shown herein at 6 and is secured to the bottom of the explosive-container transversely thereof by means of a strip of felt 7 or other suitable material, which is cemented to the under surface of the wrapper 5, and a second wrapper 8, similar to the wrapper 5 and provided with slits 9 to accommodate the protruding ends of the strap 6, is cemented to the under surface of the strip 7, and the edges thereof are turned u over and cemented to the edge of the torpe o, as shown, to give the torpedo a finished appearance.

It is apparent that the parts of the torpedo which serve to inclose the explosive must be of waterproof material, and it is preferable that all parts be of such material and it is necessary that the adhesive or cement used be waterproof, so that the torpedo may stand the wet and moisture to which it is often subjected.

The modified form shown in Fig. 5 differs from the torpedo shown in the other figures in the elimination of the Wrapper 5, the strap 6 being laced and secured in position immediately between the parts 4 and 7, only one wrapper being used to cover the rough edges of the tor edo.

WVhat claim is 1. In a torpedo of the class described, the combination of two parts cemented together around their edges to form a hollow shell, a wrapper cemented to said parts and covering the joint thereof, and an explosive composition contained within said shell.

2. In a torpedo of the class described, the combination of a base or bottom part and cover or top part of felt, paper cloth or other analogous material cemented together around their edges to form a hollow shell, a wrapper cemented to said base or bottom part, folded over the jointof said arts and cemented to the cover or top part for covering said joint, and an explosive composition contained within said shell.

3. In a torpedo of the class described, the combination of a flat base or bottom part, a dome-shaped cover or top part having a flattened rim cemented to the marginof the base or bottom part to form a hollow shell, a wrapper covering the joint of said parts and cemented to the contiguous portions thereof, and an explosive compound contained in said hollow shell.

4. In a torpedo of the class described, the combination of two parts cemented together around their edges to form a hollow shell, an

explosive compound contained within said shell and a holding-strap fastened to said shel 5. In a torpedo of the class described, the combination of two parts cemented together around their edges to form a hollow shell, a wrapper cemented to said parts and covering the joint thereof, an explosive com osition contained within said hollow shell, an a holding-strap fastened to said shell.

6. In a torpedo of the class described, the combination of a base or bottom part and cover or top part of felt, paper, cloth or other analogous material cemented together around their edges to form a hollow shell, a wra per cemented to said base or bottom part, fo ded over the joint of said parts and cemented to the cover or top part for covering said joint, an explosive composition contained within said shell, and a holding-strap secured to the under surface of said shell.

cemented to said base or bottom part, folded over the joint of said parts and cemented to the cover or top part for covering said joint, an explosive composition contained within said shell, a strap lying in contact with the under surface of the said shell, and an overlying strip of felt, paper, cloth or other material cemented to said hollow shell for securing the strap thereon.

9. In a torpedo of the class described, the combination of a fiat base or bottom part, a dome-shaped cover or top part, having a flattened rim which is cemented to the margin of the base or bottom part to form a hollow shell, a wrap er cemented to the base or bottom part, fo ded over the joint of said parts and cemented to the cover or top art, an eX- plosive contained within said shel a holdingstra lying against the bottom of said hollow shell a strip of material overlying said strap and cemented to the hollow shell for securing the strap thereon. r w

10. In a torpedoof the class described, the combination of a base or bottom part and a cover or top part cemented together around their edges to form a hollow shell, an explosive composition contained within said shell, a strap secured to said shell, and a wrapper overlying the portion of the strap adjacent the shell and covering and cemented over the joint of the top and bottom parts of the shell.

11. In a torpedo of the class described, the combination of a plurality of parts provided with matching overlapping edges, an adhesive cement intermediate of the said matching overlapping edges for combining the parts to form a hollow shell, an explosive composition contained within said shell and a holding-strap secured to said shell.

12. In a torpedo of the class described, the

combination of a plurality of arts joined together to form a hollow shel l composition contained within said shell, and a wrapper folded over the joint of the said parts and cemented to the contiguous portions thereof for covering the joint.

13. In a torpedo of the class described, the combination of a plurality of parts provided an explosive with matching overlapping edges, an adhesive cement intermediate of the said matching overlapping edges for combining the parts to form a hollow shell, an explosive composition contained within said shell, and a wrapper folded over the juncture of the parts and cemented to the contiguous portions of said parts.

14. In a torpedo of the class described, the combination of a plurality of arts oined together to form a hollow shefl, an explosive composition contained within said shell, a wrapper folded over the joint of said parts and cemented to the contiguous portions thereof and a holding-strap secured to said shell.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

- ALFRED H. KNAPP.

Witnesses:

MARY E. CoM eYs, E. M. GILES. 

